The important thing about these places is this: you can try things out without great consequence. For example, you can dig a giant hole without ruining the lawn or you can build an ugly fort with a ladder steeper than your parents would like. You can start a fire and cook BBQ ramen and eat it with chopsticks. Trained adults (called Play Leaders) support kids by intervening as little as possible, and fore-mostly work to provide an environment that truly belongs to the kids themselves.

Adventure Building Camp is also thoroughly influenced by Tinkering School and the ideas of Gever Tulley. I was lucky to work as a collaborator at Tinkering School in 2013, and again in 2015 when Tinkering School came to Marquette, Michigan for Project Mitten. I am grateful for what I learned at Tinkering School; mostly just to trust kids by simply giving them the tools and materials they need to build. I also learned about the importance of helping kids see their ideas through to completion and "building big." Tinkering school has truly been at the forefront of reclaiming memorable and empowering learning experiences for kids; a focus we share as we continue to develop Adventure Building Camp.

Lastly, we value the environment and build exclusively with waste materials. It can be harder to use scraps, and we welcome the challenge. Nothing pleases us more deeply than a pile of good junk.